


a tale of two michaels

by SalazarTipton



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drinking, Gen, M/M, Meet the Dupes, Mistaken Identity, The Wild Pony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2019-10-23 18:03:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17688239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalazarTipton/pseuds/SalazarTipton
Summary: When Rath, Vilandra, and Zan come across the country from New York to help Michael figure out the markings in an alien relic he discovered out by his and his siblings' pods Rath gets a little stir crazy out at Max's house and decides to go into town and have a little fun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i totally can't get out of my head what the dupes for these guys would be like so i had to write something. *shrug*

Liz shoves the bottle Maria set down on the bar away from herself when she reaches to grab them all shot glasses. She’s already feeling a pleasant buzz and has no intention of getting drunk tonight, despite her best friend’s pout. 

“Come on! When was the last time you actually let loose and had a good time? With us, specifically,” Maria tacks on with the hope that guilt of leaving her friends for greener pastures has earned her some pull. 

“Even if you do get her to agree to another round, I can’t. My days of public drunkenness are long since passed,” Alex says. Liz sends him a wide, victorious smile. 

Maria relents and takes the bottle away. She glances over to the other end of the bar and sees a customer trying to grab her attention. She begrudgingly excuses herself. Alex turns on the bar stool to better face Liz. 

“So, tell me what’s been going on in your world. I feel like I only ever hear bits and pieces from it from her, and even after being put through the Maria-filter, it doesn’t really paint a coherent picture,” Alex says. 

Liz sighs and looks down at her empty glass for a second, wishing she had something to distract herself from the guilt of being a bad friend, yet again. She knows Alex and Maria don’t hold it against her. They’ve both got their own things going on, she assumes. Now that she thinks about it, Liz doesn’t actually know what’s going on with them either. The pit in her stomach sinks a little more, but she shakes it off.

“Well, on my, like, second night back in town I almost hooked up with Kyle out in the parking lot, I’ve been shot at, working as a waitress instead of in a lab, and Max Evans told me he’s been in love with me since high school,” she blurts out. Once the words start coming she can’t help but laugh at how dramatic it all sounds. 

Alex’s eyes go wide and he laughs along with her. “Yeah, I’d say you’ve been pretty busy.”

“What about you? How’s acclimating to this place again going?” Liz asks. She works hard to keep herself looking at Alex’s face and not letting her gaze dip down to his crutch resting against the bar. She wants to know, but she doesn’t want to pry. 

“Work and physio, I guess.”

“Come on. There’s gotta be more. What do you as Alex, not Airman Manes?”

He blows out a long sigh and shrugs. “Avoid my dad, the usual. I need to find my own place because getting his speeches each time I walk into another room is really making me wish I could go on another tour right about now.”

“Well, I’ve always got milkshakes and bourbon at The Crashdown if you need a distraction some night.” Alex lip quirks and he looks away from her for a split second. “Or do you already have a nighttime distraction going on?” she presses, unable to hide the excited smile growing on her face. When he doesn’t say anything the shoves playfully at his shoulder. 

“I just--it’s far too complicated to even try to explain right now,” Alex finally admits. He leans against the bar and tilts his head to the side to look at her. “He’s the only person I’ve ever wanted, but somehow he’s exactly what I don’t at the same time and the last time we talked I said things I shouldn’t have and verbally slammed the door in his face.”

Liz reaches out to rub his back. “You’ve been holding out, damn.”

Maria pulls their attention away from Alex’s love life when she sets two beers down in front of them.

“From where this is going, you’re going to need these,” she says.

The door to the bar swings open, pulling her gaze for a second and a snort comes out of her. “Yeah, you may wanna rethink those shots right about now.”

Liz and Alex both pull faces and turn to see what--or who--the hell she’s talking about. Standing in the doorway is Michael. Mr. Cowboy Swagger himself except he looks nothing like his desert-tanned, rough-and-tumble self. No, he’s wearing black moto jeans, Doc Martens to match, and a hoodie with some abstract design on the front. To top it all off, his curls are all pulled back into a small, haphazard bun as if his hair was annoying him and he pulled it up as fast as possible without a mirror for guidance. 

He spots their stares and tilts his head at them with a smile creeping over his lips. Neither Liz nor Maria have ever seen him smile like that. Alex on the other hand sinks back against the bar knowing that nothing good can come from it, but he can’t bring himself to take his eyes off of him. A stray ringlet is curled back around the shell of his ear. Following the line of it makes Alex notice the metal shining there of what looks like a few piercings from this far away.

If he knew any better, he’d say this man isn’t the Michael they know. Sure he hasn’t seen him in about a week (since the drive-in), but it takes longer than that to completely change your style and gain some hardware in the process. Then again, Alex knows that look on his face. He’s never seen it outside of their times alone together, but it’s Michael’s look all the same. 

“You sure we aren’t shitfaced ‘cause I think I’m seeing things,” Liz says not really expecting an answer. 

She takes the bottle from Maria and pours out a shot. Maria silently hands her two more shot glasses. They were all going to need a little something to process what they’re seeing. Michael makes his way through the sea of staring patrons up to the bar, leaning his elbow on the nicked surface and turning to the three of them with an expectant expression. 

“If you don’t stop staring, I’m gonna think you’re into me,” he says, but his voice sounds off like he’s trying to hide an accent which make no sense to any of them. Alex blinks at him and opens his mouth, but Maria beats him to it.

“Didn’t I ban you again yesterday?” she laughs, but still reaches for a bottle of whiskey. “The usual?”

He purses his lips for a minute before answering. “I’ll definitely have a shot of that you’ve got going on.”

Maria grabs another shot glasses and pours one for him. Alex doesn’t take his eyes off of Michael as takes the shot and tosses it back like a champ, as if he’ll disappear once he looks away. Liz wipes her mouth carefully to avoid smearing her lipstick and turns to him. 

“What’s with the look?”

Michael glances down at his hoodie and back up to her and puts on an offended face. “You think there’s something wrong with my look? I’d say I went pretty Plain Jane. No reason to poke fun.”

Alex keeps studying him as he moves and talks to his friends. Nothing of what’s in front of him makes any sense. His movements are too sharp. Michael’s gestures are all smooth and languid like lemonade in the summer, in his good moments. Now everything feels clipped off and cut like he’s uncomfortable with them. It could be because of Alex, he realizes, but they’ve always kept it amicable in public. And he won’t flatter himself thinking just being in the same room as him would be able to elicit a change in his behavior. 

Now that’s he’s really looking at Michael, he can make out a dark curving line running along his neck and under the collar of his hoodie that probably connects into a large tattoo somewhere under all those layers. Alex stiffens a bit. When he finally looks at his hand, he freezes.  _ This isn’t Michael _ .  When Liz heads to the bathroom, Alex leans a little closer to him so Maria won't hear what they're saying from where she's cashing out someone's bill. 

“Who are you and what brings you here?” Alex asks him, trying to remain calm about the doppelganger in front of him. There’s no reason not to be calm, right? It’s possible Michael has a twin out there somewhere...maybe? 

“Helping out an old friend with an engineering project that needs another set of hands. He’ll realize I bailed in a bit and come find me,” he supplies. The smile he shoots Alex has a glimmer in it making it known that he’s been made and he’s have fun with it--no need for Alex to press any buttons to ruin the joke. 


	2. Chapter 2

Alex tries to keep his distance from this not-Michael as the night goes on, but stays aware of what he’s up to. The whole thing is unsettling as it is, but something about the man feels dangerous. His smile is too broad and his gestures too easy. He considers that it might just be that he’s expecting Michael’s personality in his mannerisms, but something is telling him there’s more under the surface. 

When the man leaves his bar stool in favor of conning people out of their pool money, Alex relaxes a little bit and settles back into the friends’ night he’d signed up for. 

“You lied earlier,” Liz says with her phone in hand without looking up at him. 

“What?”

She turns her phone towards him. Right there in the middle of her Facebook feed is a picture of his baby niece sleeping on his brother Mark’s lap as he nods off himself. Maria pulls the phone away from Liz’s grasp. They look at him expectantly and he pulls out his phone to bring up the photos Mark sent the Manes’ Bros group chat yesterday.

“You know, I really don’t want kids, but looking at that cutie my ovaries are definitely doing something,” Maria says as if that’s something anyone would find appropriate in public. Alex nearly spits out his drink while Liz cackles beside him. God, he’s missed this. 

Their earlier topic of Alex’s love life gets buried under the problems of growing up and dealing with family drama. Maria even talks about her mom for a bit. Eventually they wrap back around to the Manes Men: Mark’s married with a new baby, Devon is rising through the ranks (much to their father’s pleasure), and Flint is off on some mission he doesn’t have the clearance to know the details of. Alex loves  _ some _ of his brothers to death, but talking about the highlights just reminds him of how little he’s done. 

Yeah, he’s got his own status and medals and prosthetic to prove he’s been through some shit, but it all feels so fake. Over in Iraq, he used to tell stories of Roswell, the little alien tourist trap, and make fun of the place where he grew up, but being back… It all feels so different now--like he couldn’t see all the important, meaningful bits to it as a kid. 

* * *

 

Mikey  
  
**Today** 9:29 PM  
don’t tell me you actually like this bar  
What of it? You’re down here to help me with this not drink and scare the locals  
but its so fun when they think im you 😉😉  
Fuck you. Who’s they?  


Rath snaps a quick photo of the trio at the bar and sends it off. The guy looks to be a hell of a lot more relaxed than he was with him nearby, but maybe that's just the booze. Rath let's himself look at him. The few flashes of a smile he's seen have been stunning on the man's face. He wonders what it's take for him to get him smiling... 

Mikey  
  
**Today** 9:45 PM  
the guy knew i wasnt you from a mile away. any story with that one?  
I’m glad at least one person know who I am.  
Tread carefully. That’s an airman, a scientist, and a psychic. Don’t give them a reason to get curious because I’ll be the one that has to deal with the fallout  
no promises, babe!  
the locals are boring. wanna come beat me at pool?  
And get the whole town asking questions about you? No thanks  
fiiiiiiiiine! maybe ill just ask tall dark n military if he’s up for a go  
Leave Alex alone.  
**Today** 10:02 PM  
oh wait he’s alex now? not just an airman?  
hes the one that knooooows you, huh?  
hes cute. youve got decent taste after all  
...even if he is human  


 

* * *

 

The man from before on the other side of the room is out of their thoughts for an hour or so as they catch up, joke, and drink a little more in between sipping the water glasses Maria pointedly set in front of them before helping another customer. Right up until the man comes back up to the bar for a refill.

“Sure you don’t want something a little more,” Maria pauses, searching for the right word, “cowboy this time, Guerin?”

The man squints his eyes a hair as if he’s trying to read her like she reads everyone else. “For a psychic you really aren’t that observant. Another one of these’ll be just fine, doll.”

“Doll?” Liz interjects. Although she hasn’t been in Roswell for a long while, she can’t ever remember Michael talking to  _ anyone  _ like that, let alone someone like Maria who could snap him like a twig, desire willing. 

“Pay up first. I know your games.”

“See, now you’re just digging yourself in deeper,” he says. He tugs some bills out from his pocket and slides them over to Maria with a wink. She rolls her eyes and goes to make his order.

His smirk is playful and all Guerin, but Alex feels like there’s a lot hiding beneath it. If this was actually Michael, he’s know just what it was, but with this guy? He’s clueless and it’s putting him on edge. Not having all the information has only ever given him hurt and grief over the years. 

“Fuck,” the man whispers under his breath. “Busted.”

Alex raises an eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation. He looks behind them to see Michael taking off his hat, heading straight for his doppelganger in the bar stool beside Alex. 

“If you’re gonna try and impersonate me the least you could do is dress properly,” Michael says when he’s close enough to be heard over the crowd and music in the bar. He puts his hat on the other man’s head, who grimaces at it as if it’s going to bite him or something. 

“Sorry, space cowboy, but this,” he motions to the length of Michael from his shitkickers to his barely-buttoned shirt (Alex’s eyes following the lines of him as if he’s reading alone), “isn’t  _ dressing properly _ .”

“Didn’t Zan tell you to stay put?” Michael asks the other Michael with a lilt in his voice like he expected this to happen. 

“And when have I  _ ever _ listened to my brother-in-law?” The other Michael shrugs and spins on the bar stool to face him with a smile. He takes a swig from his beer before asking, “How’s it coming anyway?”

“It’d be better with another set of eyes, like you’re here to be in the first place,” Michael says with no real bite in his words. 

“I’m sorry, are we just supposed to sit here and accept two Michaels sitting in front of us with no explanation?” Maria asks, squinting her eyes at the two of them. 

Michael ducks his head while the other one reaches over the bar, hand extended for Maria to shake. “I’m Rath. It’s a pleasure.” Maria looks down at it and up to his face, not moving to accept the gesture.

“So you’re Michael’s…?” Liz trails off. 

Michael steps in before Rath can say something off-putting or ridiculous. “This is  _ Liz _ ,” he says with meaning behind her name. Rath quirks an eyebrow at him, but he just gives a nod. 

“Is that so?” 

Rath’s eye glaze over with something that puts her on edge. Liz leans a little bit away from the two of them. She may be feeling a little more comfortable around Max nowadays, but she’s never really understood Michael and the last time they talked, he levitated a knife and threatened her. With Rath’s happy attitude disappearing rapidly as it clicks in place who she is, she’s starting to feel glad she’s in a crowded, very public bar. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas down in the comments. they give me life <3  
> come find me on [tumblr](http://bialiencowboy.tumblr.com/)


End file.
